A Sneaking Shift
by eilien
Summary: Brennan and Booth share a bottle of rum and both notice a change in their relationship. Post S1 "The man with the bone".


I rewatched "The man with the bone" yesterday, and while I was trying to fall asleep, I had the idea for this story. It starts a little after where the episode ended.

Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Fox and Hart Hanson.

Dedicated to one of my favorite quotes from Bones from this episode:

**Booth**: Whoa, maybe you just want to, you know, chill a little.  
**Brennan**: Chill?  
**Booth**: Yeah. You know, take a pill.  
**Brennan**: Listen, _dude_, my lab was violated, my bones were stolen, so I think I'll remain _warm_ for a little while longer.

Always makes me laugh…

* * *

Entering Brennan's dimly lit office, Booth watched her working on her computer for a moment. She was slightly hunched over, a few stray hair strands fell in her face and her blue lab coat lay discarded on the couch. Engrossed in the screen in front of her, she didn't notice him. After drinking in the sight of a completely focussed Bones – _not that he didn't see her every day like this, in fact there were very few, rare moments, when Brennan really let go and relaxed_ - he knocked softly on the door frame to catch her attention.

"Hey, what do you say to a nice quiet meal at Wong Foo's now that the case is closed?" He asked and threw in a charm smile for good measure. Brennan pushed herself slightly away from her desk and exhaled.

"Uhm…" She hesitated.

"You having other plans or something?" Booth asked tentatively but couldn't help the slightly disappointed undertone as he folded his arms across his chest. Brennan raised an eyebrow at his behaviour, but decided to let it slide for the moment.

"No, actually I just went food shopping this morning and planned on cooking this evening." She answered and noted how Booth's stance changed. This time he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Oh, okay…well then, have a good night." He smiled softly and turned to leave, getting his poker chip out of his pocket, flipping it in the air.

"You could come over if you like, I'm sure there's enough for two." Only as she finished her sentence, the meaning of what she had just said became clear to her. She would be cooking for him. _How domestic. _She thought sarcastically. Sensing her discomfort, Booth approached her desk slowly. "Are you sure?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

A thousand thoughts were flying through Brennan's head. _Am I sure? It's just dinner. We eat together all the time, what difference does the location make…_

"Yeah, sure, it's no big deal, right?" She answered, not sounding as convincing as she would have liked.

"Right."

An uncomfortable silence settled over them as both tried to read the other's thoughts. Having enough, Brennan closed the file in front of her and tried to break the ice. "Maybe I'll even make you some fish fingers, seeing that you're so fascinated with pirates and treasures." Booth grinned, relived that the tension seemed to have evaporated all of a sudden_. Just like always, one moment we argue, the other we laugh… or the other way around. _He smiled at this thought.

"So, see you around seven?" Brennan asked, startling him out of his reverie, but he recovered quickly. "Yeah, I'll bring the rum." He winked, and once again turned to leave.

* * *

Booth let his fork clatter onto the plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He let out a contented sigh and leaned back. Brennan watched him amused, when he turned to her. "Bones, that was spectacular, I didn't know you could cook _that_ good." To emphasize his words, he scooped up the last drop of gravy and licked his finger clean.

Brennan laughed. "To be honest with you, I thought you'd balk after I tell you that I'd made ratatouille."

"As long as it tastes like heaven, I'll even eat your tofu..." Brennan's eyebrows vanished into her hairline at his comment, and Booth was quick to downplay his statement. "…But, you know, a man needs his calories, so next time, a meaty steak please." He finished with an impish smile.

"You do know, that the consumption of red meat over a lifetime was found to raise the risk of cancer by 20 to 60 percent." Brennan told him, now in full scientist-mode.

"Everybody eats meat." Booth countered unimpressed.

"Approximately six percent of the citizens of the US are vegetarians." Booth snorted, while he helped Brennan put the plates in the dish-washer. "Yeah, and you'll never find me amongst that number." After closing the hatch, Brennan put one hand on her hip and jabbed with the index finger of the other hand Booth's chest. "You've never even given it a try, how can you be so sure?" She said accusingly.

"It's not polite to point, Bones." He said with a grin, silently congratulating himself that he, once again, was able to push her buttons. He grabbed her finger with his hand and put it back at her side, holding to it only a second longer than necessary. Brennan let out an exasperated sigh as she followed him back to the living room, where she watched Booth putting on his jacket.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I think I'm heading back now, it's getting late, but thanks for dinner, it really was delicious." he smiled, straightening out his collar.

"I don't think you should be driving in your condition." She said matter-of-factly. "What?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "What condition?"

Brennan turned slightly to her side, indicating his glass, and the bottle alongside it, that still sat on the table. "You've had at least three glasses of rum."

"Aw, I can stomach far more than that, Bones, don't worry, but I'm touched by your concern."

"I'm not concerned." She huffed, "I'm merely being rational. It's not safe for you to drive. You're not only endangering yourself, but other people as well!" She finished.

She just had to play that card. "Yeah, well, I'm not walking home." He said, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. "Yeah, well…" she said, mirroring his words, "I want you to take a cab." To underline her words, she took one step forward and snatched his keys from his hand. "Bones, what the heck…?" he trailed off, when he saw her determined face. "You want me to take a cab and leave my wheels at your place? No way, how am I gonna get 'em back?" he tried to reason with her now. "I could drive your car over tomorrow." "And how are you gonna get back?" "You'll drive me." He sighed frustrated. "Come on, Bones, that's too much trouble." "No, it's either this, or you'll stay here." "What?!" he nearly coughed from the sharp intake of breath. Brennan had to suppress a smile at seeing his discomfort. "I've got plenty of space. And I know for a fact that you keep a bag with a change of clothes in the back of the Tahoe." She rubbed her brow. "Look, Booth, I really don't want you driving. You stay here and drive home in the morning – sober." Booth tried one last time "Is that really necessary?" "Yes!" came her forceful reply, and he quickly put his hands up in a defensive gesture "Okay, okay… but in that case…" he smiled devilishly at her, "We'll kill that bottle of rum!"

* * *

Brennan and Booth had long ago settled on her comfortable couch, their legs on the coffee table before them and the nearly empty rum bottle beneath it. They weren't drunk, but inebriated enough to feel a tingly sensation in their limbs and a bit light-headed. Booth turned his head, which rested heavily on one of the big cushions, and looked at Brennan.

"So, today I've discovered, that you are a skilled diver and a good cook. Plus you're able to hold your liquor. Are there any other hidden talents I should know about?" He asked and playfully leaned in closer, looking her up and down, pretending to search for secret talents.

Brennan laughed, put a hand on his forehead and pushed him back into the couch. "Sure, but none that are of immediate concern to you." She replied cheekily. _Oh. _His brown eyes sparkled with amusement, as he answered huskily. "All in good time, Bones."

Brennan cleared her throat nervously but couldn't surpress the smile that formed on her face. They were playing with fire and they knew it. She should put a stop to it and call it a night, but she was enjoying this evening and his company far too much to let her conscience win.

"So, which are your hidden talents that I don't know about so far?"

"Hmmm…" He contemplated, stretching his arms and lightly touching her left shoulder with his right hand. Brennans eyes involuntarily turned down to his fingers and she shivered at the contact which he probably hadn't even noticed.

"Well, you do know that I'm good at bowling and Origami." He said, referring to their last christmas and the lung fungus, which had put the Jeffersonian under lockdown.

"I always wondered where you picked that up."

"Oh, that was just something I was forced to learn in high school. I thought I had forgotten all about it, but I guess it's just like riding a bike, you never do." He gesticulated with his hand, but it eventually came back down on her shoulder.

"What else?" She asked.

"I'd like to say singing, but you've heard me sing, so that's out of the question." He answered with a lopsided smile. Brennan softly laughed as she m them singing and dancing to 'Hot Blooded', deliberately blocking out the memory of a bloodied and bruised Booth lying in the middle of her kitchen. Still she looked over to him, just to reassure herself that he was, in fact, alive and breathing. She scrunched up her face, when she analyzed her actions. _Irrational. _Despite what her brain was telling her, her gaze turned back to him and she watched him thoroughly. His eyes were closed and his breathing even, though he was not asleep, she noted, because he occasionally tapped a finger on the armrest of the couch. With a sigh, she slowly stood up, testing her balance. His right hand fell from her shoulder to his side.

"What are you doing?" Booth murmured.

"We're both getting tired, I'll just set up the guestroom for you." He grunted in disagreement and opened his eyes. "Don't bother. The couch is just fine." Brennan sighed "Booth…"

"Nu-huh…." He cut her off. "Don't argue with me. I'm sleeping here" He stretched and put his feet on the other side of the couch. "See, I'm already comfortable."

Seeing that Booth wouldn't move again in the distant future, Brennan gave in. "Alright, just let me get you a proper blanket." She said and vanished into the adjoining bedroom.

While she rummaged through the closet, she reflected on the evening. Normally she should feel uncomfortable having Booth sleeping over, but it felt surprisingly good. _When did that happen? _She asked herself. Having found what she was looking for, she quickly changed into a shirt and sweat pants, before she returned to the living room, blanket in hand, only to see Booth lying on his side, one hand on his stomach and the other beneath the cushion his head was resting on. A surge of protectiveness went through her body and a warm feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she watched his sleeping form. Disturbed by her feelings, she went over to him and put the blanket over his body, before she proceeded to the lamp in the corner by her window and switched it off.

On the way back, she once again came to a halt in front of the couch. She sat down on the coffee table and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. Due to the darkness in the room, she could barely make out his features, the only source of light being the street lamps outside of her apartment. Deep in thought, she was startled to hear his voice.

"Bones, are you _squinting_ at me?" Albeit very soft-spoken, Brennan could detect a chuckle in his voice. Embarrassed, that she had been caught, she replied "I, uh, I just wanted to make sure that you had everything." She was about to stand up, when his hand caught hers and gently tugged on it. "Booth…?" She asked confused.

"C'mon, Bones, you wanted to know if I needed anything."

"You want me to…?" She still wasn't a hundred percent sure, what he was implying. "Yeah." Sensing her reluctance he assured her "It'll be alright, don't worry." With that she let him pull her fully onto the couch and under the blanket. As she heard him sigh contently behind her, she, too, started to relax into his embrace. His arm came protectively around her middle and settled on her stomach. She turned slightly and whispered "Goodnight, Booth." Promptly followed by his hoarse "Goodnight, Bones." Taking in the feeling of utter contentedness and safety, she placed one of her hands over his, tilted her head up and placed a soft kiss on his warm lips. She felt him respond for a moment, before he buried his face in her neck and tightened the hold he had on her. Sleep claimed both almost instantly.

_End_


End file.
